Ulala
"Hey there, space cats! Ulala here, comin' at you from Spaceport 9." -Ulala Ulala (うらら Urara) is the main protagonist of the Space Channel 5 series. She is Space Channel 5's star reporter and a huge hit with the galaxy audience. She is also an excellent dancer and one of gaming's most recognizable female characters. Character Info Ulala is age 22 according to both games. As well as an excellent dancer, Ulala is also skilled at playing many musical instruments, such as guitar, drums and keyboard. She wishes to become the number one reporter in all the galaxy. Off hand, her favorite ice cream is cherry vanilla. Her blood type is B, and her Zodiac sign is Gemini.Gaming Wikia: Ulala's profile, excerpt from game manual Background Ulala was born on Earth on the date of May 30, 2477 at 1:18 a.m. As for the origin of her name, Ulala's mother is from a small country in East Japan. Her name was given to express the tone of this country. Gaming Wikia: Ulala's profile, excerpt from game manual As a child, she watched Galaxy Kids News, presented by Shinichiro Tachibana. At the age of 12, Ulala was the sole survivor of a spaceship accident. She was rescued from the brink of the galaxy by a Space Channel 5 reporter, and the rescue inspired Ulala to become a reporter for the station that saved her life. The reporter that saved Ulala soon left Channel 5 however, and she never got to thank him for saving her. Eight years later, Ulala soon got to work with the station. However, it wasn't until another two years that she got her big break as a space reporter, during the Morolian Invasion in the first Space Channel 5. Personality Ulala is often portrayed as confident; often heading into danger without showing the slight trace of fear. When the Morolians invaded Spaceport 9 and people fled in panic, Ulala confidently strutted forward to deliver her report. In Space Channel 5, she often remarks smugly about her performance if she does well against her opponent; stating "That was fabulous!" or "I kicked butt!" with a confident tone. However, Ulala can get less smug when she doesn't do well; stating phrases like "I...saved SOME of them, at least!" and "I gotta get better at this.". In Part 2, Ulala seems to have taken a less confident stance against the Rhythm Rogues. She often exclaims shock at some of the drama in the game, such as when people are taken hostage. In the original, she stated these developments calmly and professionally. However, Ulala still retains plenty of her confidence from the prequel, stating during the first boss fight "Whatever happens...I'll give it a dance!". Dead Pixels described Ulala as 'gaming's ultimate diva; confident and ready to meet any challenge,' but also 'uniquely human, excitable and dramatic, and never without the help of friends and fans alike as a result." Space Channel 5 Ten years after being rescued from an explosion on a station station by a reporter from Space Channel 5, Ulala struts onto the scene under that very same station. Morolians have invaded and are forcing people to dance the galaxy over and under the orders of Fuse, Ulala begins dancing the aliens into submission to save the helpless victims from horribly grooving to the beat. While investigating the invasion, Ulala has to fend off rival reporters Pudding, from Channel 42, and Jaguar, the suave man from the Space Pirate Broadcasters. Eventually, Channel 5 reaches where the Morolians' base is said to be located within the Asteroid Belt. Inside the base, the Funkiest Dancebot "Morolian Monroe" is ready to take on Ulala. It's a rough fight and unfortunately Jaguar catches up to the swingin' reporter. However, he offers to lend a hand in defeating the dancebot and the two take on Morolian Monroe together. Ulala shoots the screens that appear and Jaguar covers her by shooting at the two-in-one alien directly. After the battle, it's discovered that the Morolians were being brainwashed as well and, on Fuse's orders, Ulala shoots out the television screen that was keeping the Morolians in the room hypnotized. The secret base falls apart and everyone evacuates. As Ulala is riding out of the large tubing leading outside and pulling double duty in saving the Morolians, Jaguar comes over the comlink between Ulala and Fuse, saying: "I found where the brainwash signal's coming from. Looks like it's frequency is the same as Channel 5's." Ulala, Pudding, and Jaguar head out to Space Channel 5's HQ to find a bunch of Morolians convening in a meeting on making people dance. At the end of the room is Channel 5 CEO Chief Blank, presumably the mastermind behind the entire invasion. He runs - more like teleports - away from the trio and the chase continues. Space Michael is encountered in the connecting hallway and he's saved from the Morolians, joining Ulala as she heads for the control room. There Ulala rescues the "Keyboard Grrrl" and everyone marches toward the elevator. Inside, Mr. Blank is seen sitting on a chair. Taunting the pink-haired reporter, he zooms up to the roof while Ulala is left with a mass of Morolians to take care of. Saving Hoorg, the Morolian Leader, completes the group following Ulala up to the final confrontation. Emerging from the elevator, Ulala and her companions learn a surprising fact about Chief Blank. He doesn't care about truth. In fact, he wants every reporter to share his vision. The "Ultimate Reporter" Evila is sent to outdance Ulala, but the robot fails against the groovy moves of the spunky reporter. The puppet is taken care of, it seems that Ulala has won. At least until the roof of the dome opens up and Fuse yelps for help. A humungous robot, Giant Evila, has taken the broadcasting ship and the director inside hostage, leaving it up to Ulala aboard the Astrobeat Jr. along with Jaguar and Pudding on their own crafts to dance-off against the new threat. Ulala must move in the opposite direction of what she hears to keep Fuse safe. Giant Evila gets bold, knocking away both Pudding and Jaguar before the sound system fails and Ulala loses her rhythm. Ulala is knocked away, let to float in space. An A Capella beat picks up and Jaguar reaches out to grab Ulala, twirling her slightly back onto the Astrobeat Junior. Ulala now has a chant support, giving her a rhythm to groove to. She retaliates and finally Giant Evila's head disconnects from the rest of it's body, hovering above everyone. It shifts to the image of Chief Blank, who reveals that ratings are everything to him. If television was all for ratings, then what was the problem with brainwashing the masses? Chief Blank, now called Blank TV, activates the "Blank Dimension" sucking him and Ulala into a separate space to do battle, yet the chant support is still clearly heard. Through a somewhat confusing game of TV laser tag wherein Ulala must shoot the screens with the correct beam (either "shoot" or "rescue"), the strength of her support increases. People start singing along with Ulala even when Blank's screens act as feet and hands in a way one could only see to believe. The Blank Dimension shatters and Ulala is free. When the energy of the crowd is pumped up, Fuse says for everyone to focus all of their energy on the station's antenna. Ulala, Jaguar, Pudding, and some Morolians each get a line in as the energy builds, becoming tendrils of a brilliant blue against the dark, specled canvas of space. Those tendrils work their way up the antenna just as Blank says his last three commands: "Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!" Everyone shouts the same right back, fully charging the antenna and blasting Blank, claiming he'll be back, into deep space. Ulala wraps up her final report and marches off with friends and former foes alike along a glittering trail left by Fuse's ship. They make their way to the end of the galaxy. Space Channel 5 Part 2 Report 1: Ulala Back in Action! Sometime after the Morolian invasion, Ulala was sent to cover an attack on a cruising spaceship. This was Ulala's first encounter with the notorious Rhythm Rogues, marking her appearance in the sequel. After saving hostages of the cruise ship, Ulala comes across Kin, Kon and Kan in the Lookout Dome. The mechas sent by the Rhythm Rogue mastermind, Purge, to defeat Ulala are toppled although it seems Purge was expecting this as he says: "The party's just begun." Report 2: Nature's Revenge! Ulala is sent out to cover the kidnapping of Space President Peace. Although Ulala managed to save the President from the Rhythm Rogues' fiendish Pon Piriri, he was quickly whisked away by Rhythm Rogues member Shadow. Report 3: Meet the Sexy Space Police! When Purge revealed a ransom exchange for the hostages and the President, Ulala, Fuse and Noize quickly dispatched themselves to the exchange point. Despite warnings from Space Police Chief Pine to back off and leave the investigation to her, the Channel 5 team continued to make their way to the exchange point. As Ulala successfully escaped attacks from Pine, Space Michael sent a message to warn the group that Space Channel 5 had been attacked by robots. Ulala, Fuse, and Noize immediately return to the space station. Report 4: The End for Space Channel 5?! Upon arriving at Channel 5 HQ's airspace, Ulala and the Astrobeat are attacked. Ulala goes it alone and manages to make it inside the station, rescuing Space Michael. The pair, along with many Evila (Upgrade) bots, enter the core and encounter Purge in the flesh for the first time. Purge cleverly uses Peace as a shield while fighting Ulala, but the reporter is able to defeat him with ease. Fuse dives in the Astrobeat Spaceship to deliver the final blow, but the laser shot he fires at Purge is rebounded towards Ulala. Fuse takes the blow for Ulala and ploughs into the fiery depths of the station. Ulala screams as Purge laughs manically before making off with the station's broadcasting antenna, and Ulala is stunned while Space Michael evacuates the station. Noize manages to rescue Ulala, but the Astrobeat Jr runs out of power. Ulala attempts to dance in order to regain power, and manages to create enough to escape the exploding space station. Ulala screams 'FUUUUUUUUUUUUUSE!!!!' as the station finally explodes. Report 5: The Spies Get Revenge! Pine leads Ulala and Space Michael to Purge's base, and the group arrive alongside rival reporter Pudding and Morolian Boss Hoorg. However, they are quickly found out and encounter Shadow again, prompting a band battle between the Rhythm Rogues and Ulala's group. Ulala's group wins and Shadow is revealed to be a brainwashed Jaguar. Jaguar quickly informs Ulala that Purge is intending to complete a weapon known as 'The Ballistic Groove Gun', which will force the whole galaxy to dance. Report 6: Purge's T.V. Special As the whole group face off against Purge's robots, Ulala is soon led into a one-on-one dance battle with Purge. However, things take a turn for the worse when Purge uses dance power to turn into Purge the Great. Ulala turns desperate, and although she manages to avoid several shots from Purge, he quickly charges a shot which sends her spiraling to the ground. Fuse's voice urges Ulala to get up, as her friends and fans join her. Ulala is revived and her entire group takes on Purge. Successfully rescuing President Peace, Purge quickly attempts to take out the entire mass with his Ballistic Groove Gun, but Fuse miracously turns up and urges Ulala to defeat Purge. Ulala responds "Purge! Enough of your trash TV!" before blasting him off into the galaxy with the help of her friends. Ulala states that 'Now...happy days, are indeed here again!' before strutting to the end of the galaxy with her entourage. Relations to other characters 'Fuse:' Fuse is Ulala's boss and the director of Space Channel 5. He guides Ulala throughout the levels, and can be very strict on the poor girl if she messes up. However, he gives nothing but praise if she does well, and even becomes fascinated by her moves. It is unknown how Ulala sees Fuse, whether a father or a brother figure, but she seems to care for him a lot. She rescued him from Blank's clutches in the first game and in Part 2, she was reluctant to escape the exploding station without Fuse. Judging that Fuse took Purge's hit for her, he clearly cares for her as well. 'Pudding: ' Pudding is UIala's rival reporter from Channel 42. In both games, she and Ulala face off in fierce showdowns for ratings. Whilst Pudding is rather arrogant in the first game, confident that Ulala is no match for her, she seems to have gained respect for her rival in the second game. This doesn't stop her from gloating when she is winning, however. In both games, Pudding ends up helping Ulala in order to defeat the villian at the end. 'Jaguar': In the first Space Channel 5, the mysterious reporter that ended up saving Ulala as a kid turns out to be Jaguar. At first, he butts in on Ulala's reports and tests her dancing skills; he says 'Not bad!' if the player does well, showing a hint of respect for Ulala. Perhaps Jaguar's reason for ambushing Ulala so much is because he thought she was in league with Chief Blank, being an SC5 reporter, but this is purely speculation. He rescues Ulala again after Blank launches a devastating attack on her during the final part of the first game, showing he cares about her. In the second game, Ulala returns the favour by saving him from Purge's control in the Mystery Zone. Seeing as how both reporters have saved each other's lives, and share the ideal of 'truth over ratings', it suggests that Ulala and Jaguar care and respect each other more than the traditional SC5 fan can see in the video games. Appearances in other games: 'Sonic Riders (GameCube, Playstation 2, Xbox, PC):' Ulala appears in the game as a playable character. She is a Speed Type character, and her Extreme Gear board is the "Channel 5.", a white board with a 5 mark on it. Ulala is also the only character incapable of riding bikes. Interestingly, the team that made the SC5 games were also responsible for Sonic Riders. However, Ulala does not reappear in the game's sequels, Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity and Sonic Free Riders. A Space Channel 5 segment was also featured in the track SEGA Illusion, which was based on many SEGA IPs. Sega Superstars (Playstation 2): Ulala is also featured in SEGA Superstars with her only minigame. It is heavily based off of 'The 100 Stage Dance Battle' from Space Channel 5 Part 2; even re-using sound tracks and various commands already used in the game's mode. The player must copy the Morolian's moves to save hostages. They can use 6 different buttons to use the different commands, and Ulala will point at that button with the player. Noteworthy is that this mode is called 'Ulala's Swingin' TV Show!' in the game, suggesting it is another one of her programmes she runs. Sega Superstars Tennis (Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS): Ulala is one of the many SEGA characters to make a long-overdue return to the gaming world in this game as a playable character. Pudding also appears in this game; playable as well. Ulala is the 'control' type and her Superstar Move causes her to change into her white outfit. She then sends the ball in a 5 shape to the other side of the court, and Morolians pop up, causing her opponent(s) to dance when touching Morolians. There is also a Space Channel 5 court based on a spaceport, along with many Morolians who dance. A few tracks also return from the franchise to play on the court. Interestingly, Steve Lycett, executive producer of the game, stated that one of the mini-games that didn't make it into the final version was a Space Channel 5 mini-game. It is suspected, although not confirmed, that it would have been similar to the shooting sections from the game, but in a tennis format. Sega Splash Golf (PC): In SEGA Splash Golf, Ulala is one of the optional caddies for the player to have. She also seems to re-tain her 'Channel 5' gear from Sonic Riders for this game; riding it in one of the trailers. Samba De Amigo (Wii): In Samba De Amigo Wii, Ulala was the only SEGA character besides Sonic the Hedgehog to make a special guest appearance. She dances with Amigo in a tv broadcast room in Space Channel 5. Many Morolians and also Miis join Amigo and Ulala in dancing. Interestingly, Amigo seems to have been giving his own tv show, titled 'Samba TV', suggesting he and Space Channel 5 struck a deal for Amigo to have his own program. Ulala's stage has three songs. 'Mexican Flyer', which is Space Channel 5's main theme, 'Groove is in the Heart', which was ironically the same song SEGA asked Lady Miss Kier to advertise Space Channel 5 with back in 2000 and 'Do It Well'. 'Mexican Flyer' is actually the only SEGA song outside of Samba De Amigo to make an appearance in the game; unlike the original's many tracks from other SEGA games. Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS, PC, Mobile): Ulala appears as an unlockable character in Sonic and SEGA All Stars Racing. She is one of the few Hovercraft types in the game; riding a floating space pod dubbed as the 'Astro Glider'. She is also the sole female racer besides Amy Rose. Ulala's All Star Move is named 'Tension Blast'. When she gets it, the reporter vanishes in a flash of pink light and re-appears on top of her vehicle; a Morolian now driving it. As she strikes the 5 pose, Morolians appear above the racers ahead of Ulala and forces them to dance. Meanwhile, Ulala withdraws her trusty space blaster and begins shooting at everyone, striking dance moves if she hits them. The icon for the move is a Blue Morolian. The announcer for the game seems to show hints of liking Ulala; when she is struck by a weapon, he claims "A hit on Ulala! She'll be used to those.", as well as saying "Some beautiful driving from Ulala who looks good in first...looks good most anywhere!". When Ulala wins a race, he yells "CALL MEEEEEE!!!!!". Three Space Channel 5 tracks were meant to appear in the game and were sixty percent complete, however, they were dropped. SUMO, SEGA forums Hatsune Miku Project Diva and Project Diva Dreamy Theater Although Ulala does not actually appear in this game, Hatsune Miku, a virtual turquoise-hair diva, has a module in both games called "スペースチャンネル5; (Space Channel 5)," in which Miku wears Ulala's retro gear. The only thing that is different here is Miku keeps her long pigtails, only they are now pink. Her eyes also become the same shade of blue as Ulala's. Also in the games, you can upload tracks from other sources and make Miku and the other characters dance to it by creating what is known as an "Edit PV." Some have made Miku disguised as Ulala dance to a report Ulala actually danced to by using moves that were similar to the directional moves in the game. In both games, the skirt of Ulala's outfit has moving physics. Also in this game Miku has another module based on Ulala's clothes called "スペースチャンネル39 (Space Channel 39)" in which Miku still has her color scheme, but her top resembles Ulala's with a pink "39" on it, her boots have tall heels like Ulala's boots, and she wears very short shorts. Project X Zone Ulala appears in the 3DS game, Project X Zone, a crossover RPG developed by Banpresto and Monolith Soft. She joins in Chapter 23, appropriately titled "Ulala's Swingin' Report Show", where, in the world of Resonance of Fate, the X Zone team is in the middle of stopping a statue of Leanne containing one of Aura's Segments from crashing into a gate. After the statue makes it halfway through the stage, Ulala appears, actually announcing the title of the chapter and begins making a special report about the party's activities. After annoying Devilotte with her commentary, Coco★Tapioca and a group of Yaroo and Plurp Morolians then appear on the tracks, in the path of the moving statue. The party realizes that if the statue makes contact with the robot, it will be shattered along with Aura's Segment. Ulala joins the party after the conversation, with the game announcing that Coco★Tapioca must be defeated by the end of the fifteenth turn or a game over will be declared. As a Solo Unit, Ulala can be assigned to any Pair Unit as their combo assist. When called in to help, Ulala walks into the middle of the battle and calls on three other Sega characters to attack for her: Opa-Opa from Fantasy Zone, Harrier from Space Harrier and Scooter from Alien Storm. Once all their attacks pass, she finishes up with two shots of her trademark Tension Blaster before jumping out of the way. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Ulala appears as a playable character once again in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. This time, she is available from the start. Pudding is also playable in this game, but she must be unlocked. Ulala drives a white futuristic three-wheel sports car with a Space Channel 5 theme. For her All-Star move, Ulala shoots pink, heart-shaped blasts at her opponents while two Morolians dance behind Ulala's plane. Lady Kier v. SEGA Lady Miss Kier filed a lawsuit against SEGA claiming that Ulala was an unauthorized use of her likeness. She claimed SEGA offered her $16,000 to license her name, image, and songs for a video game, though she declined the offer. She claimed they went ahead and used her likeness anyways, causing her to file the suit. She ultimately lost, having to pay all of SEGA's $608,000 legal fees. Ironically, her 2008 single was licensed by SEGA for use in the Wii game "Samba de Amigo". A more ironic twist being that it was featured in a level with Ulala guest starring. Trivia *Ulala was may have been named after the French expression "Ooh La La" in translations of the game. **Although "Ulala" is the official English spelling of her name, her Japanese name is "Urara." Urara is a Japanese girl's name, and her name is written in Hiragana ("うらら"). *In Sonic Riders, her Extreme Gear the Channel 5 is actually a flat Astrobeat with a Channel 5 logo on it. *Acording to her Peach Suit in the changing room, Ulala loves shopping. **This outfit is also the only one without jetpack on her back (not counting the character costumes) *The Channel 5 mike info in the changing room states that Ulala changed its color in blue, indicating that it wasn't its real color from the start. Which is odd, because all other Channel 5 mikes in the first game were already blue at the time. *Ulala is one of only four characters to have appeared in almost every opening of the Sega Superstars Series. (The others being Sonic, AiAi and Amigo.) **Interestingly, she also has a part in each opening with AiAi. (Standing with him in SEGA Superstars, playing Tennis with him in SEGA Superstars Tennis and racing against him in SEGA All Stars Racing.) *Furthermore, Ulala's Channel 5 Retro Gear (Her white outfit) has appeared in every SEGA crossover game to date, as well as Project Diva and Samba De Amigo Wii. **Her Orange Oufit only appears in Sega Superstars Tennis. *In Virtua Fighter 5R Version B, there is a custom Ulala costume for Sarah Bryant. It looks just like Ulala with the hair, jetpack, gun on the leg, and earpiece. The only thing different is that the outfit is not exactly like Ulala's (the top is a tie top and the bottom is shorts resembling that of Super Ulala's), and she's not wearing the shoes. Quotes Part One Part Two *"Oh, Not There" *"Ulala's Swingin Report Show Special Broadcast! References See Also *Ulala's Swingin' Report Show *Channel 5 Gallery 'Artworks' image_sp5_characters_ulala.gif|Artwork from the japanese website Ulala(2).jpg|Space Channel 5 sculala3_2.jpg|Space Channel 5 image_sp5_2_characters_ulala.gif|Space Channel 5 Part 2 Ulala_00.jpg|Space Channel 5 Part 2 Ulala2.jpg|Sega Superstars Ulala_4.png|Sonic Riders Gallery continued > Category:Main Characters Category:Heroes Category:Humans Category:Orphans Category:Part One Characters Category:Part Two Characters Category:Reporters Category:Females Category:Channel 5 Staff